Read Micah 1 For her wound is incurable, for it has come to Judah; It has reached the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem. Micah 1:9 I have tried to be compassionate towards my children when it comes to punishments. I worry that sometimes I am being too lenient when I talk to my children about grace and mercy, but I see minor infractions of my rules as opportunities to teach them spiritual lessons. However, there are moments that the punishment has to happen. My son is only a year older than his middle sister, but he's a lot stronger than her, so when he fights with her and hurts her, the hammer is coming down. Judah's incurable wound is the judgment that God's about to bring. The word incurable means inescapable. Judah had lived contrary to God for a long time, and He had given them numerous chances to change and correct their behavior. But they chose disobedience and selfishness. Finally God says the punishment has to come, because He has to prove the consequences of sin. God doesn't delight in punishment, but He will bring it if that's what gets your attention. What sin has God been trying to "cure" you of that you aren't done with? His discipline will continue on your life until the day comes that you make His priorities your priorities. God doesn't like to be ignored, especially since He never wastes words and always has a purpose behind everything He does. Have you been ignoring God's correction? Then you just need to stop, drop and pray right now and confess that sin. My guess is that you already know what it is...I always did. Do you have a friend or family member that is ignoring God's correction? Pray for them. Talk to them about it in a manner of support and not superiority. Christians need to get serious about the messages that God brings to them. Read Micah 2 Recently My people have arisen as an enemy— You strip the robe off the garment from unsuspecting passers-by, from those returned from war. Micah 2:8 "We have seen the enemy and it is us." This is a famous quote from a cartoon strip called POG. It ran from the 50's-70's and this line is the most memorable contribution of the strip. And we can all think of a time this line applied in our lives. A coach may say that his team wasn't beaten by the other team, but that they beat themselves. Their own mistakes and lack of concentration at critical times in the game may have cost them more than the performance of the other team. The sad part is when a coach say this about his team more than once in a season...it means that his team doesn't realize it's deficiencies. Israel here is certainly an enemy to God by choosing sin, but they have also become an enemy to themselves. Their conduct leads them to miss God's best for them as they become selfish and uncaring towards others. When you get to the New Testament, 1 John tells us there is one great evidence that proves our faith: love. When we love, we are as God is. I suppose that even when we sin, love is still present. However it's a love only for ourselves. Who do you blame for your sin? Do you blame someone who created a circumstance that caused you to sin? Do you blame a spouse, children, or parent? Remember that when we choose to sin, we stand alone on the decision-making for that. Even my son who is only 8 and has accepted Christ personally, is individually accountable to God for the sins he commits. As a parent I have an obligation to try to lead him away from sin, but he is old enough and aware enough to stop being an enemy to God and others. Read Micah 3 Then they will cry out to the LORD, but He will not answer them. Instead, He will hide His face from them at that time because they have practiced evil deeds. Micah 3:4 Daddy was a great word of love from my daughter at first. Unfortunately it soon became my daughter’s favorite word (Mommy might disagree). Instead of a million different requests, sometimes I wish she would just say "Daddy" and then give each and every one of her requests right then. Unfortunately, she tends to ask twenty separate requests over the course of a 2-3 minutes span. So while I can hear her, I do ignore her sometimes. God doesn't get tired of hearing us, but God is also not an equation. Sometimes we think if we do X, then God will do Y. While God wants us to be obedient to Him, we should do so out of love and not out of expectation of what God will give us. Here Micah warns that the people will cry out to the Lord, but He will ignore them because of their evil deeds. We all have evil deeds (sin), so should we consider that God has been dismissing our prayers as well. Notice these people were practicing evil deeds. They were constantly involved in them. When we sin, God's hope for us is that we would recognize it and repent of it. If not, then our prayers are hindered when we choose worldliness, but ask God to help out when the world didn't come through. Are your prayers hindered? It's not a result of the words you do or do not use. It's a result of the life that you live, concentrating on Him or yourself. You must be as quick to repent as you are to request. Read Micah 4 And He will judge between many peoples and render decisions for mighty, distant nations. Then they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they train for war. Micah 4:3 As long as man is in control, war will be a constant. I am not anti-war and I do believe there are times that tyrants, dictators and lawless people must be confronted and stopped. However, peace brought about by war is not long lasting. Plotting continues. Revenge is sought. No matter how many peace summits and meetings our leaders hold or attend, peace will never come about by the efforts of man. Someone once wrote, "Safety consists not in the absence of danger but in the presence of God." This prophecy in Micah looks towards the 1000-year reign of Jesus Christ. After the time of the Antichrist is over, Jesus will reign here on the earth. Peace will be the theme and swords and spears will be changed from implements of war to implements of work. Worldwide peace is at the hands of Jesus, but what about peace in our lives? Do you have peaceful relationships with your neighbors? What about co-workers, or family members? While we won't have great situations in all our relationships, it's upon us to seek peace. So are you seeking peace with those around you? Read Micah 5 But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity. Micah 5:2 Freehold, New Jersey doesn't look like much. I traveled there to get a look at a youth mission trip site, and there were several homes in the area we were going to be working on to help the residents. The town was small and not much to look at. Then we heard about Federico's pizza. It has a room on the second floor that was built and reserved for the town's favorite son, so that whenever he comes home, he can eat there without being pestered. Freehold, New Jersey is the hometown of Bruce Springsteen, one of the most talented rock musicians and songwriters of his generation. And this town suddenly goes from nothing to something simply because they can claim him. Bethlehem had nothing of notoriety. It was the smallest group amongst God's people. If Bethlehem had a division of tourism, they would have been working a pretty tough job. But Micah says that Bethlehem is going to get a bump in importance, because a ruler of unusual character will come out of them. That ruler is Jesus. I love the line that He is "from long ago." Literally the translation means "from the days of all time." There is no time in history that Jesus has not been. He came out of the weakest of the tribe to remind us that human might has never brought about salvation. Whether with Adam, Noah, Peter, or John, ever amazing work that was accomplished was done by the power of God. A good reminder to me today is that Jesus has always been and will always been. Just as He's been there in all the days past, He is already in the days to come. God exists throughout time and for Him there is no future or past. He is completely aware of everything at all time. And can you believe there are still times I fail to pray? There are still times I fail to keep my relationship to Him fresh and remember I'm not just dealing with some religious figurehead, but with the God of all the universe! Let's pray remembering that today.